United States District Court, N.D. Mississippi, Aberdeen Division
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
DEBRA
M. BROWN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This
pro se prisoner action is before the Court for sua
sponte consideration of jurisdiction.
I
Factual and Procedural History
On May
25, 2016, Anthony Strong was indicted on a federal charge of
being a felon in possession of a firearm. See United
States v. Strong, No. 1:16-cr-52-NBB-DAS (N.D. Miss.)
(“Strong”).[1] At his initial appearance on
September 21, 2016, Strong was temporarily detained pending a
detention hearing.[2] The next day, Strong waived a detention
hearing but reserved the right for a hearing at a later
date.[3]
On
August 3, 2016, Strong was indicted in the Monroe County
Circuit Court on charges of aggravated assault and being a
felon in possession of a firearm. Doc. #13-1; Doc. #13-2.
Strong was arraigned on the state charges in November 2016.
Doc. #13-2.
On
December 7, 2016, Strong filed a petition for a writ of
habeas corpus in this Court challenging his pretrial
detention on the state charges and seeking dismissal of those
charges. Doc. #1. Strong's petition names Strong as
“Plaintiff” and the United States as
“Defendant.” Id. at 1. On January 31,
2017, Billie Sollie, [4] construing Strong's habeas petition
under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, moved to dismiss the petition,
arguing dismissal is an improper remedy for challenging
pretrial detention absent special circumstances. Doc. #13.
Strong did not respond to the motion.
On
January 18, 2017, Strong pled guilty to the federal charge of
being a felon in possession of a firearm.[5] After his
sentencing hearing on May 22, 2017, Strong was remanded to
the custody of the United States Marshal.[6] On June 23, 2017,
Strong, who pled guilty to the state charges, was sentenced
by the state court and then returned to federal
custody.[7]
II
Jurisdiction
In
order for a federal court to retain jurisdiction over a
habeas petition, “the petitioner must demonstrate
… that he continues to present a case or controversy
….” Zalawadia v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 292
(2004). Of relevance here, “claims for federal habeas
relief for pretrial issues are mooted” once a
petitioner is convicted. Yohey v. Collins, 985 F.2d
222, 228-29 (5th Cir. 1993); see Fassler v. United
States, 858 F.2d 1016, 1018 (5th Cir. 1988).
Strong's
petition seeks dismissal of state charges which, as a result
of his guilty plea and sentencing, are no longer
pending.[8] Thus, his petition is now moot. With no
remaining controversy, the Court is deprived of jurisdiction.
Jackson v. Clements, 796 F.3d 841, 843 (7th Cir.
2015) (once pre-trial confinement became mooted by
petitioner's conviction, court was deprived of
jurisdiction because no actual, ongoing controversy existed).
III
Conclusion
For the
reasons above, Strong's petition is DISMISSED as
moot for lack of jurisdiction.[9]Accordingly,
Billie Sollie's motion to dismiss [13] is DENIED
as moot. The Clerk of the Court is
DIRECTED to close this case.
SO
...